People are concerned about the quality and safety of chicken products consumed by their families. In particular, they are concerned about potential human health problems associated with consuming eggs and meat from chickens given growth hormones or other chemicals. As a result, some people are raising their own chickens so they have control over these concerns. It is believed that raising chickens as free range chickens produces chickens that are healthier, and so produce better eggs and meat. As used herein, free range chickens means chickens that are free to roam outside during the daytime. Free range chickens are usually raised in a rural environment, so there is a risk of nocturnal predators such as raccoon, fox, mink, weasel, and coyote attacking the chickens. Therefore, the chickens need a chicken coop with a door that is closed and secured each evening after the chickens instinctively return inside the chicken coop to roost. Raising free range chickens also requires that a chicken coop door be opened each morning. This daily opening and closing of a chicken coop door is an aspect of raising free range chickens that can be a problem for chicken ranchers if the rancher is working away from the chicken coop, or goes on vacation.
A guillotine like arrangement of a door panel guided in vertical tracks is known. Some arrangements have been automated to raise and lower the door panel by coupling the door panel to a motor using a cable or chain. The door is raised by retracting the cable, and is lowered by unwinding the cable and relying on gravity to lower the door panel. A drawback of a guillotine arrangement is that some predators, raccoon in particular, are adept at lifting the door panel to gain access to the chickens. To overcome this deficiency a locking mechanism has been suggested that adds cost and complexity to the automated chicken coop door. Furthermore, marketed examples of these doors show a relatively quick door movement, less than about 2 seconds. Such quick movement may startle and/or injure a chicken in the door opening when the door is closed. Another guillotine like arrangement has a lever coupled to a motor on one end, and a roller sliding in a slot coupled to the door panel on the other end. This arrangement is subject to the door becoming wedged in the tracks since the force to lift the door is not centered on the door panel. Both the cable and lever arrangements are subject to being prevented from completely closing by any material trapped under the door panel. Also, replacing the door panel of the lever arrangement is difficult because of the number of parts that need to be disassembled to replace the door panel.
Automated doors for humans to enter or exit a business are also known. Such doors use sensor mats or other proximity sensors to activate the doors. These doors also move relatively quickly to respond to an approaching customer and minimize the time that the door is open to reduce heating or cooling losses from inside the building. For safety reasons, in the event of a loss of power or other mechanical failure, the doors must be easily opened to allow customers to exit the store.